February 13, 2015
I believe that Valentine’s Day is tomorrow – be still my beating heart. If you’ve been planning a host of heart-y things for your sweetness tomorrow, then you are in fine shape. Unless you forgot to plan out the right drink for the evening. What’s that you say? You don’t have a special drink for that special somehow. Hope you like the couch. Though, since I have a warm feeling towards you (you are pretty neat), howsabout I help you out. Serve up the below, which is a tasty mix shading just a wee bit sweet, and watch the evening commence in the proper manner. Oh, you might want to whisper that Ti Penso Sempre means, “I think of you always.” That should help your cause as well.
Ti Penso Sempre, from Dark Spirits, Serves 2 naturally
Ice cubes
3 ounce brandy
2 ounces Aperol
1 ounce simple syrup
2 orange slices, for garnish
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Add the brandy, Aperol, and simple syrup. Shake well.
2. Strain the mix equally into 2 cocktail glasses. Garnish each with an orange slice. Let the romancing commence.
Tags: Aperol, Brandy, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Friday Night Cocktail, Ti Penso Sempre, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Brandy, Cocktail Recipes, Dark Spirits, Italy, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
February 6, 2015
People who know me best know that as the song says, I’m a lover not a fighter. So, don’t take the sorta aggressive nature of this title to mean I’m all up in your face. I’m not! I just had a friend suggest this as a title, and it’s a dandy name for a cocktail in my mind (and that’s the only mind I got). Also, at the time I was looking for a name for this very drink, a drink I created using the swell Old Ballard Liquor Co. Riktig Aquavit (I wrote a lot about the Old Ballard Liquor Co. here), which has a strong and memorable flavor. Not so strong as to give you a thrashing, but strong enough that you’ll remember it – and hopefully this drink, too.
I Will Give You a Thrashing
Cracked ice
2 ounces Riktig Aquavit
1/2 ounce sweet vermouth (I used Cocchi Torino)
1/2 ounce Pierre Ferrand orange curaçao
1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with cracked ice. Add everything. Stir well.
2. Strain into a cocktail glass. Drink while facing Ballard.
Tags: Aquavit, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, I Will Give You A Thrashing, Old Ballard Liquor Co., Pierre Ferrand orange curaçao, Riktig, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Distillery, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
January 30, 2015
I’ve had a Blue Train cocktail up here on the Spiked Punch blog in the past, and it’s a good drink. There is, however, another Blue Train cocktail I like, based on one I saw called the Blue Train Special. It’s a bubbly mix, a celebratory number, an effervescent affair, one that’s sure to provide a hint of elegance for those occasions that demand such. You should try it, whether you’re on a train or not. Though really, it might be, now that I think about it, better when actually had on a train.
The Blue Train, from Champagne Cocktails
Ice cubes
1 1/2 ounces brandy
1 ounce fresh pineapple juice
Chilled brut sparkling wine
Pineapple chunk, for garnish, (optional)
1. Fill a cocktail shaker three-quarters full with ice cubes. Add the brandy and pineapple juice. Shake well.
2. Strain the mixture through a fine strainer into a Champagne flute. Top with chilled sparkling wine and garnish with a pineapple chunk on a toothpick.
January 23, 2015
I’m a strong proponent of the non-violent approach. So don’t think this drink is in honor of using the back of your hand in some attempt at masculinity or femininity through smacking folks around (unless it’s like Hydra, or the Nazis, or something). Oh no. This drink is in honor of the actual backside of the hand – a space on your body that you should always take care of, since it’s what shows when you’re holding a drink. This drink has a bit of a beachy lean, too, featuring 3 Howls Navy Strength rum, as well as pineapple and lime, and on the beach every single inch of skin is important, and seen. And, as people tend to gaze at your hand most (even if it’s a beach, right? Right?), especially when you’re holding said drink, that hand backside becomes very important. So important that I thought it needed a drink named after it. This is that drink!
The Back of the Hand
Ice cubes
2 ounces 3 Howls Navy Strength rum
3/4 ounces pineapple simple syrup (see Note)
1/2 ounce freshly squeezed lime juice
3 ounces club soda
1. Fill a cocktail shaker or mixing glass halfway full with ice cubes. Add the rum, pineapple simple syrup, and lime juice. Shake well.
2. Fill a highball or comparable glass three-quarters full with ice cubes. Strain the above mix over the ice. Top with club soda. Stir well. If you feel this needs a garnish, try a lime wedge.
A Note: To make pineapple simple syrup, add three cups fresh chopped pineapple, 3 cups sugar, and 2 -1/2 cups water to a medium-sized saucepan. Stirring occasionally, bring the mixture to a boil over a medium-high heat. Lower the heat a bit, keeping the mixture at a low boil for five 5 minutes. Turn off the heat, and let the syrup cool completely cool in the pan. Strain and store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.
January 16, 2015
This international (of sorts) country hopper is another that has a bit of a holiday-overload-reviving quality. It even has double bitters, and the slightly bitter vermouth Punt ‘e Mes, making it good anytime you’ve had a filling meal. It’s all underlined by the fine Irish Whiskey, Teeling, which I hope you can find in your neighborhood.
Let It Fly
Cracked ice
1-1/2 ounces Teeling Irish Whiskey
1 ounce Kronan Swedish Punsch
1/2 ounce Punt ‘e Mes vermouth
2 dashes Scrappy’s orange bitters
1 dash Angostura bitters
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add everything, and stir.
2. Strain the mix into a cocktail glass.
Tags: Angostura bitters, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Kronan Swedish Punsch, Let It Fly, Punt ‘e Mes vermouth, Scrappy’s orange bitters, Teeling Irish Whiskey, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: bitters, Cocktail Recipes, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking, Whiskey
January 9, 2015
A classic cure for gastronomical distress, I’ve featured this favorite on the Spiked Punch blog before. But as it’s such a fine remedy for curing your post-holiday internal ills, and as one or two of you may have missed the earlier post, here it is again, starting your new year off in a fine, tasty, gut-happy way.
The Stomach Reviver
Ice cubes
1 1/2 ounces brandy
1 ounce kümmel
1/2 ounce Fernet Branca
2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
1. Fill a cocktail shaker halfway full with cracked ice. Add everything, and stir well.
2. Strain the mix into a cocktail glass. Think less full thoughts.
Tags: Brandy, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Kummel, Peychaud's bitters, The Stomach Reviver, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: bitters, Brandy, Cocktail Recipes, Italy, Liqueurs, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
December 26, 2014
This bubble number is ideal for taking your New Year’s Eve celebrations from mundane to insane (in the good way), from dull to dandy, and from so-so to go-go. Not only does it take the spotlight drink into another realm of awesome, but as it’s also a drink that inducing dancing, it’s sure to add the hop to your New Year’s Eve step. It does take a little bit of prior planning, cause you have to make lavender simple syrup. But that’s not tough at all. Just add 1/4-cup fresh lavender, 2 cups sugar, and 1-1/2 cups water to a medium-sized saucepan. Raise the heat to medium high, and heat until it reaches a low boil, stirring regularly. Once it reaches that low boil, reduce the heat to medium low and keep the syrup at a simmer, still stirring, for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool completely. Then strain it, and start singing Auld Lang Syne.
The Lavanda, from Champagne Cocktails
Ice cubes
2 fresh lavender sprigs
1 1/2 ounces gin
3/4 ounce lavender simple syrup (see note)
Chilled Prosecco
1. Add the flowers from the top of one lavender sprig, gin, and lavender simple syrup to a cocktail shaker. Using a muddler or wooden spoon, muddle well.
2. Fill the cocktail shaker halfway full with ice cubes. Shake like dancer.
2. Strain into a flute. Top with chilled Prosecco, and garnish with the second lavender sprig.
Tags: Champagne & Sparkling Wine, Champagne Cocktail, cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Gin, lavander simple syrup, New Year's Eve cocktail, Prosecco, The Lavanda, What I'm Drinking
Posted in: Champagne & Sparkling Wine, Cocktail Recipes, Gin, Recipes, What I'm Drinking
December 19, 2014
Earlier on the blog, we made a lovely drink with Seattle distillery 3 Howls’ Navy Strength rum, the Midshipman Burns. But one drink with this sturdy, but tasty, rum is not enough! And as the temperature is dropping – or dropped – and drinks that warm you cause of their heat and cause of their warming fortitude are desired, this second rum drink is a hot one. It’s great on a cold morning, when you need to warm up and get going all at once. But it’s not just hot – it’s scrumptious, as the rum here’s cozied up with the great Pierre Ferrand orange curaçao, and one of the best coffee liqueurs in the world, which is also made up in the Northwest, by the sweet Seattle Distilling Company. It might seem an odd quartet when mixed with water, but it’s a wondrous combo. Trust me!
The Morning Call
1-1/2 ounces 3 Howls Navy Strength rum
3/4 ounces Pierre Ferrand orange curaçao
1/2 ounce Seattle Distilling Company coffee liqueur
4 ounces hot water
Wide orange twist, for garnish
1. Add the 3 Howls rum, Pierre Ferrand orange curaçao, and the Seattle Distilling Company coffee liqueur to a mug that’s been warmed slightly with hot water. Stir briefly.
2. Add the hot water and stir again. Garnish with the orange twist.
Tags: cocktail recipe, Cocktail Recipes, Friday Night Cocktail, hot drinks, Morning Call, What I'm Drinking, winter drinks
Posted in: Cocktail Recipes, Liqueurs, Recipes, Rum, What I'm Drinking
